Chapter 1315: Speak, Where Is Your Main Force?!
A shadow loomed over Great Xia’s imperial capital—a dark cloud formed by Fleet Three. The citizens looked up in alarm, only to find that the enemy had arrived at their doorstep.
The three wealthiest locations in the imperial capital were naturally the imperial palace, the Luodi Merchant Guild, and the Meng Family’s old estate. They were precisely Fleet Three’s targets. Yet before Fleet Three could make a move, the imperial guards, the merchant guild’s hired experts, and the Meng Family elders all emerged.
Fleet Three’s commander was startled. “Why can so many of them fly? Attack! Don’t let them get close. All units, attack!”
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Two hundred energy beams at maximum power fired in unison, striking the three groups of cultivators and instantly engulfing the area in thick smoke and dust.
Seeing these aboriginals remain in place without dodging, the commander’s panic turned to delight. “Foolish aboriginals. They don’t even dodge when faced with an unfamiliar attack!” He regretted ordering a full assault. Using energy beams on these aboriginals is such a waste.
The imperial guard’s voices came from within the smoke. “Be careful. The enemy may use the smoke to ambush us!”
As the smoke cleared, the three factions formed a circle with their backs to one another, wary of further attacks from the fleet. After all, the Zhutian Civilization’s methods were unknown. No amount of caution would be excessive.
They summoned their various weapons and used Rules to lock down the surrounding space. Yet after waiting a while, they still saw no signs of the fleet’s real attack. It seems that the other party only knows how to use smoke bombs?
They cautiously approached and found the fleet’s soldiers frozen as though time had stopped—some with mouths agape, some collapsed on the ground, some mid-leap—not a single one able to move.
“Do they have no means to counter the power of rules?” A Meng Family elder was bewildered. When Fusion cultivators fought, they typically probed with rules first to gauge each other’s strength. Why were they already immobilized as soon as they started probing?
The merchant guild’s hired experts felt somewhat embarrassed. They were fed and funded by the merchant guild for the purpose of protecting it in times of crisis. They had assumed that the ambush from the Zhutian Civilization would finally be their chance to earn their keep. But who would have imagined the Zhutian Civilization would be this weak? They even felt guilty accepting the merchant guild’s monthly stipend.
“What? The Zhutian Civilization can’t even handle the power of rules?” The tide of the battle had shifted so quickly that the city’s civilians had yet to recover from their panic.
Someone’s quantum communicator buzzed. It was a call from a friend at the Xitian Temple. He answered, and a novice monk greeted him. “Excellent, benefactor. Let me show you a grand spectacle. The Zhutian Civilization warships have come here!”
Hearing this, the surrounding crowd gathered around, heads pressed together to see the situation at the Xitian Temple.
Abbot Mingyu unleashed the Acalanatha Dharma Manifestation. It was a fully golden dharma body that was thousands of zhang tall, brimming with so much Buddha-nature that onlookers couldn’t help but bow in reverence.
He then unleashed the Thousand-Armed Guanyin[1] Dharma Manifestation. The two dharma manifestations merged, and the Acalanatha form sprouted a thousand arms, each hand gripping a warship.
All two hundred warships were held in Abbot Mingyu’s grasp, like toys in a child’s hands. The fleet’s soldiers had wooden expressions as they knelt on the ground, bowing and chanting the Acalanatha Sutra, even though they had never even heard of it before.
Fleet Four’s commander was too terrified to step forward. Every attack they launched against the Acalanatha Dharma Manifestation couldn’t inflict any harm, and the soldiers had stopped obeying orders, collectively converting to Buddhism.
“Calling Fleet Five, we’ve encountered monsters here!”
Bzzt...
The other end of the communicator showed Fleet Five’s commander, who smiled bitterly. “Monsters? Are they as terrifying as the ones here?”
Faced with the surprise attack, the Demon Monarch Zhu Tian transformed into his original Dijiang bird form. It had neither a head nor a tail and was crimson all over, its body round and plump, with six wings sprouting from its back.
If Zhu Tian’s true form was only the size of a palm, anyone would call it adorable. But the problem was that his true form was larger than mountains. His six wings could blot out the sun, and the patterns on his body were as wide as warships. Their attacks couldn’t even singe his hair.
Demon kings and demon emperors soared into the sky one after another, reverting to their original forms. Demonic aura billowed above the Demon City, creating an atmosphere of despair. The Demon City’s citizens cheered, praising Zhu Tian’s brilliance and mighty prowess, which pleased him greatly.
Reverting to human form, Zhu Tian kicked open Fleet Five’s command ship, grabbed the commander with one hand, and demanded sternly, “Speak, where is your main force?!”
The commander was stupefied. “Main force? We are the main force.”
How could Zhu Tian be fooled by such a clumsy lie? He sneered and slapped the commander. “You still dare lie to me? A fleet this weak has the nerve to call itself the main force? You don’t even know how to lie properly! You must be a scouting unit. Speak, where is the main force?!”
The commander was plunged into despair. “We really are the main force.”
Seeing how obstinate the commander was, Zhu Tian stopped holding back. He activated his Law of the Jungle Incipient Dao Fruit and seized direct control of the commander. Yet the commander’s answer remained the same—they were the main force and the elite troops of the Zhutian Civilization.
Zhu Tian was stumped. He contacted the representatives of the major powers—the Xia Emperor, the Old Dragon Emperor, Abbot Mingyu, the Snow Emperor, and Lu Yang.
Beneath the Old Dragon Emperor’s scales, his quantum communicator buzzed. He casually dropped the command ship and carefully tapped the answer button with a dragon claw, fearing he might break the device.
“That’s the situation. The fleet commander here insists they’re the main force. Based on my analysis, he has likely been subjected to psychological suggestion or hypnosis, causing him to believe that they’re the main force and genuinely think he’s telling the truth.”
The Xia Emperor and the others nodded, feeling that Zhu Tian’s reasoning made sense. This can’t be the full power of the hegemon of the cosmos. We can’t afford to let our guard down.
The Snow Emperor saw the scenes behind Zhu Tian and the others, which were engulfed in the flames of war, with the people singing their praises and hailing them as great heroes. He couldn’t help but grow somewhat annoyed. “Why didn’t the warships come to our Extreme North?”
The Xia Emperor and Zhu Tian silently stared at the Snow Emperor. Even Abbot Mingyu’s gaze was peculiar. Their meaning was obvious.
Lu Yang was stationed at the Cultivation World’s entrance when he heard Zhu Tian’s analysis, and his eyelid twitched. “Is it possible that the Zhutian Civilization isn’t as powerful as we’d imagined?”
He had been holding this sentence in for a long time.
“That shouldn’t be. They’re the hegemon of the cosmos after all, and their leader even calls himself the Heavenly Emperor.” Zhu Tian rarely disagreed with Lu Yang. The Heavenly Emperor is such a grand title. Even I wouldn’t dare call myself that.
Lu Yang sensed something and turned his head.
“What’s wrong, Big Brother Lu?”
Lu Yang narrowed his eyes, focusing on the boundless starry sky. “Quite a few warships are approaching from over there, and they seem to harbor hostile intentions.”
Zhu Tian was thrilled. “There’s no mistake about it! Since they dare to openly attack our Cultivation World, that must be their main force!”
As they drew closer to the Cultivation World, communication was finally restored, and Shi Wumian could finally reach his commanders.
“Lord Shi, run! The aboriginals here are all monsters!”
“Help! Help!”
“Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!”
The communications cut off one after another. It was unclear what had happened on the other end.
Shi Wumian finally realized how dangerous the Cultivation World was and frantically shouted, “Turn around now!”
Lu Yang showed Zhu Tian and the others the Biluo Heaven Legion, which was in the middle of turning around. “You guys seem to have scared off their main force.”
1. Guanyin is the Bodhisattva of Compassion. ☜